geiswold



".PErERS, PHQTUMTMOGRAPHER WASH NGTON n c "tlnitd tant VICTOR M. GRISWOLD, OF PEEKSKILL, NEW YCRK.

Letters Patent No. 97,081,1Zated November 23, 1869.

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The Schedule referred to vin these Letters Patent a'nd making part of the same.

To all whom t may concern.

Be .it known that I, VICTOR M. GmswoLD, of Peekskill, vin the county' of llestcllestei', and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Clip or Clamp; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference heilig hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letter's of reference marked thereon.

The'object of` my invention is, primarily, to provide a certain, cheap, and simple means to bc used by photographers and others for suspending albumenized or silvered paper or other light material to dry, though my invention may be used for many other purposes.

It consists of a wire or thin strip of metal, bent in a peculiar manner, hereinafter' explained and illustrated in' the drawings, by which a spring-clip or clamp is formed from the said thin strip of metal or piece of wire, the said clip having a hook formed at one end, by which itmay be suspended from a nail or line, and at the other end the jaws bent up at or nearly at right angles for claspiug the article to be suspended or held. v j

The legs or prongs between the said ends are bent so as to act as springs to retain the article in place, and at the same time so that they are held in the4 proper relative position to each other, withoutany ring or other device,'apart from the form of the legs themselves.

The jaws are coated or covered with India rubber, wood, varnish, or other suitable substance which will not excite chemical action in the silver-bath or other liquid into which it may be necessary to dip the said jaws. v

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an edge view of' the same.

Figure 3 is ahorizontal section, showing the parts below the line :v a, fig. 1.

A A are thc legs or prongs of the clip, which also act as springs, to keep the jaws B B pressed tightly together.

A short distance above the jaws B B, the lcgs are bent inward at an angle approximating to a right angle, and the said legs,A or that portion ot' Ehem marked a a, are crossed obliqnely, as seen in By this crossing, and the upward direction which the corners e e take when the jaws are forced apart, the two legs are kept in their proper relative ypositions witllout the use of a ring or other contriva'nce to clip or clamp emhold them together.

The portions b b are then brought together at the bottom, and the jaws B B are formed by bendingthe ends of' the wire nearly or quite at right angles with the portions b b, and parallel with each other. They may be flattened so as to give a broader bearing-surface, or formed in any other shape desired.

rIhe upper ends 'of the legs A A are twisted together, as seen at c, to give stiffness and strength to the clip, and a hook, al, is then formed by bending the upper part ofthe clip to one side, and thendownward.

The jaws B B, and a part of' the portions b 11,are coated or covered with India rubber, gutta-percha,

.wood, horn, varnish, or other suitable substance, to

keep the lnetal of which the clip is formed from being acted upon by .and exciting chemical action in the solutions or mixtures into which it may be necessary to dip it. l

In suspending albumenized or silvered paper, for which my clip or clamp is particularlyapplicable, the method generally employed is to use the American clip, which is merely the well-known clothes-pin, made of two pieces of wood, hinged together and kept closed by a spiral spring.

The paper is taken from the bath in the fingers,

aud carried to a line 0n which a number of these clothes-pins are strung, when itis held by one cor? 11er, andl that corner is inserted between the jaws of a clothes-pin.

AThen the other coruervis brought up and fastened. in a similar manneiy'the paper meanwhile-becoming more or less soiled with impurities at the upper edge, whence they are very liable to drain or run down into the middle portions.

The springs in the clothes-pins become weak, and allow the paper to fall, and sometimes, when one cor- 11er only is released, the other becomes torn.

My clamp or clip obviates all these diiiiculties and l defects, and in its operation it is much more' expeditious, safe, and cleanly. v

. The operator takes a clip in each hand, presses the legs together, whichv opens the jaws, fastens the clip upon the odge of the paper while the latter floats on the bath, and then raises the sheet by means ot' the clip, carries it to the line, and hooks the clip upon the liuc by means of the hooks d, where it hangs and dries without danger oi' falling.

lVhenever the power ofthe springs becomes decreased, they may be strengthened by nnhooking the parts a a, and bending the legs outward.

IIaving thus fully described my invention,

lflhe clamp or clip, formed of the two parts or legs A A, twisted together at the top, crossed obliquely at a a, for the purpose specified, and brought together to form jaws at the bottom, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

at right angles with the portions b b, to prevent the said jaws fromvpassing each other, andto obtain a better and larger bearing-surface, substantially as specified.

Witnesses:

' H. J AMES WESTON,

E. P. GBISWOLD.

V. 'M. GRISWOLD. 

